The simmering confrontation between the FIA and the Formula One teams threatening to start a breakaway championship looks set to intensify as the sport's governing body holds a meeting of its World Motor Sport Council in Paris. It will also mark a face-to-face encounter of the FIA president, Max Mosley, and Ferrari's president, Luca di Montezemolo, one of the most hardline dissident team chiefs and a vocal critic of Mosley's autocratic style.

After Sunday's British grand prix at Silverstone there was an overwhelming feeling within the paddock that the eight teams aligned under the Formula One Teams' Association (Fota) banner had seized the upper hand in their jousting with the FIA and might be able to force Mosley to step down as their price for abandoning the planned split.

However, a defiant Mosley was clearly in no mood for conciliation. Whereas Mosley had previously suggested that he would not stand for re-election to the FIA presidency in October, in a letter to all the member clubs, he stated he is considering a change of heart.

"Over recent weeks it has become clear that one of the objectives of the dissident teams is that I should resign as president of the FIA," wrote Mosley. "Last year you offered me your confidence and, as I wrote to you on May 16, 2008, it was my intention not to seek re-election in October this year. However, in the light of the attack on the mandate you have entrusted me with, I must now reflect on whether my original intention not to seek re-election was the right decision."

Mosley then continued with a stinging critique of the eight Fota teams, which include Ferrari and McLaren. "It is for the FIA membership, and the FIA membership alone, to decide on its democratically elected leadership, not the motor industry and still less the individuals the industry employs to run its Formula One teams."

Mosley went on to say that he regards the rebels' decision to establish an independent series as "an assault on its [the FIA's] authority" and he doubted whether the motor manufacturers who supported the dissident teams would be prepared to invest the sums necessary to bankroll the cost of establishing a rival championship.

As for the Fota teams, there were mixed messages. Brawn's chief executive, Nick Fry, acknowledged that the FIA meeting was "critical" but added: "The teams have clearly stated how they see the future. We have entered the championship with conditions but now it is a question of whether they will be fulfilled." However, Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren team principal, said that Fota was pressing on with its own plans.